Capital Link is honored to announce it has received an unrestricted grant of $3 million from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. This generous and transformative award will allow Capital Link to catalyze the impact of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs or community health centers) and advance their missions of providing essential health care—regardless of ability to pay—to patients in the country’s most vulnerable communities.
Capital Link plans to use these funds to enhance and optimize its capital planning and financing assistance efforts for community health centers so they can increase access to care in the communities they serve, build financial and operational strength and resilience, and better plan for the future.
“We are incredibly honored for this recognition from MacKenzie Scott and her foundation, and the tremendous opportunities it presents to expand our work in strengthening community health centers and the underserved communities they serve,” said Becky Regan, Capital Link CEO. “This award will allow us to broaden our scope of work like never before in developing and supporting the FQHC sector.”
This one-time investment recognizes the indispensable work of community health centers throughout the U.S. As a vital component of our nation’s health system, health centers provide critical care to those most in need, breaking barriers to positive health outcomes due to unaffordable and inaccessible care options and stemming from systemic racial inequalities and environmental injustice.
- Community health centers serve 31.5 million patients each year in the U.S.[1]
- One in 11 Americans are community health center patients2, of whom:
- 90% are low-income3
- 19% are uninsured4
- 64% are of racial or ethnic minority groups5
- Community health centers led COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts, administering more than 22 million vaccines between 2021 and 2023, of which 70% went to racial and ethnic minorities.
“The Board and I are deeply grateful for this tremendous honor, which is a testament to our long history of supporting our nation’s community health centers, and to the powerful impact of the health center movement at large,” said Michael Curry, Esq., Capital Link Board Chair and President and CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers (Mass League). “This award will enable Capital Link to innovate and expand their mission of strengthening community health centers financially and operationally to support them in providing the communities they serve with access to quality health care.”
Regan added, “Capital Link is grateful to the Mass League and the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC)—two of Capital Link’s founding organizations and fundamental partners and advocates for FQHCs and their communities—for their continued confidence and support, which undoubtedly helped paved the way for recognition through the receipt of this transformational gift. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Mass League and NACHC to establish new and innovative avenues of support and initiatives for health centers.”
About Capital Link
As a national non-profit embarking on its 30-year anniversary in 2024, Capital Link has worked with hundreds of community health centers and Primary Care Associations (PCAs) to plan for sustainability and growth, access capital, improve and optimize operations and financial management, and articulate value. Established through the health center movement, Capital Link is dedicated to strengthening health centers—financially and operationally—in a rapidly changing marketplace. For more information, visit www.caplink.org.